Doha: The UAE karate team exceeded expectations with an impressive show that surpassed the guidelines of UAE National Olympic Committee (NOC) for the sports associations at the 12th Arab Games.
The trio of Marwan Al Maazim, Humaid Al Zarounie and Hamad Al Najjar went home with two medals: a gold in the Individual Kata by Al Maazim and a silver in the Team event by all three players also in the Kata category.
"Four years ago, we won a silver medal in the Teams Kata event. This time we added a precious gold of the Individual event." Khalid Darwish, the team's manager, told Gulf News.
"The competition was tougher than four years ago with the best athletes from all Arab countries coming to participate to win the cash prizes and we have faced champions from Asia and Africa in this Games but our players have proved their capabilities and did not let us or their people back home down and won medals in the two competitions they took part. We are proud to hear everyone talking about how the UAE team in improved and I believe this is one of the biggest gains because one of the objectives of taking part in international sports competitions is to leave a good reputation about our country and its sports," Darwish added.
"I would like to express my thanks to the organizers because the competition was one of the most successful events we took part in and I do believe that Qatar has organized the best Arab Games in history, " Darwish concluded.
